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Star Trek Online (Perpetual Entertainment)
Star Trek Online (STO for short) is the name of a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) being developed and eventually published by Perpetual Entertainment. With the game currently in early development, beta testing is slated to begin in summer 2007 and a tenative launch in early 2008. The official website for the game is scheduled for launch soon, though a development blog already exists. Game setting The STO story starts around Stardate 77021.1, 20 years after Star Trek: Nemesis, as the Alpha Quadrant rebuilds after the Dominion War. The Romulan Star Empire is on the brink of becoming close allies (or perhaps a member) of the United Federation of Planets while the Klingon Empire continues building a close relationship with the Federation. Even the Borg are considered a manageable threat with technology brought to the quadrant by Captain Kathryn Janeway. Such peaceful conditions have convinced the Federation president to divert resources of Starfleet towards the construction of a network of enormous transwarp conduits, which have been troublesome and expensive, but with great exploratory potential. However, elements of Starfleet fear that the Federation is falling into a false sense of security and into a deceptive trap by one of its old enemies, or perhaps a new one. Thus, steps are secretly being taken to prepare for the conflict that is sure to come. It is up to you to choose your path for the coming millenium. Game features Star Trek Online will be available worldwide and localized for various languages, and paid for through a monthly fee. The game will feature planet-based and starship-based content, as a player's character will explore the Star Trek universe in third-person mode. Planets will be rather limited in terms of explorable areas, but starships are expected to be "full of content and interactivity" and also customizable with its equipment, systems, personnel, and other elements. http://www.startrek-online.net/news/64/startrek-online_net-interview-with-lead-developers.html. The game will draw much of its content from established Star Trek canon. However, the game developers have stated some changes have to be made to fit the game's design and capabilities. New elements are also expected to be added, such as technologies, ship designs, and alien species. Some content might even come from popular non-canon sources as well. The game will initially be available for the Windows PC, but there have been hints of allowing players to perform actions through other platforms, such as a mobile device. It has been said that the developers are interested in exploring the possibility of tying together a future television series with the game so that players could influence what is seen on the show through their actions within STO, although this is certainly not on the drawing board at this time. Missions Most missions are cooperative in nature, in that players will work together with other players around the world to complete various missions that a Starfleet starship typically encounters, collecting rewards dependent on their performance during the mission. One can expect a majority of the content available to solo players as well. There are also plans for Player versus Player (PvP) combat to be initially available through holodeck simulations, which may somehow have a persistent effect on one's character outside of the PvP environment through rewards or penalties. The development team is also committed to having PvP elements outside of the holodeck as well, with details not yet ready to be shared. A character will select a group within Starfleet to align with. This alignment affects the type of missions, equipment, and other technologies available to the character. Such groups might be based on department, race or culture, or other factors. Players will also be able to make affiliations with other players through "guilds", called fleets. Such player groups can then take on larger missions pooling together their skills and resources. Smaller player groups called "clubs" and "small teams" will also be allowed for more casual situations. Character development Players will be a Federation Starfleet officer. Characters can be of one of nine races: Human, Vulcan, Andorian, Bajoran, Tellarite, Bolian, Klingon, Cardassian, or Ferengi. A player starts in Starfleet Academy as a new cadet and attends courses as a tutorial to the game experience. Characters also select their race at this time, as well as their initial physical appearance. Further changes to body and clothing will be possible as characters progress through the game. Next, the cadet is assigned to a training vessel to have an opportunity to try out the content of the departments available to them: Science, Security/Tactical, and Engineering. The Command division is accessed through the Leadership skillset system which every player can access in their development, albeit forgoing some training in their primary department. At the end of the space training, players will select a department to specialize in initially. To be a high-ranking officer later on, one will need to balance their department and Leadership development. Character development continues through improving one's standing in various "specialties" (such as Medical and Flight Control) so that each character can specialize in skills they can apply to many different situations, including away and space combat missions. One known example is a Science officer could be an Intelligence Specialist (primarily a shipship-based role) or a Medical Specialist (mostly an away team role). Players with a high standing in a specialty will receive an appropriate title to represent their achievements. Players continue their adventure within the relatively safe confines of Federation space. One can expect missions in this area to be similar to the "traditional one-shot episode-like content" of the television series. Later on, characters graduate from the Academy and become commissioned officers. They explore hostile territories, where the major conflict comes into play. Success in missions gains experience and reputation for the character, which can be used to gain rank, take on new missions, and other actions. Characters that earn the respect of Starfleet will be granted ship commissions, and at higher levels even have their own crew of other players and non-player characters (NPCs). One can temporarily leave their personal vessel to join the crew of a larger ship. Regardless of rank, one will always have a personal vessel available to them. The Beta Quadrant will be the primary area of space where much of the gameplay will take place, with game expansions opening up other areas. It will be possible to develop skills or progress through missions even while offline from the game, although it is unclear how this would work. This is designed to help casual players with not a lot of free time for games to still progress their characters at a reasonable rate. Regardless of a character's class, all players can expect to participate in combat and non-combat situations. Economy and reputation The game's economy will revolve around the Federation credit to purchase personal luxury products and services that are typically not provided by the Federation to its citizens. A 'pseudo-currency' of Prestige may be implemented to improve one's reputation with Starfleet and, in essence, 'purchase' equipment, missions, rank commissions, ship commissions, and ship upgrades. Space travel and combat Starfleet vessels will carry characters between destinations through conventional warp drive. However, the speed of travel in real time is currently undecided, but will not be instantaneous, as to allow for unexpected events and missions to occur. Spontaneous missions and rewards will incent free-form exploration of the galaxy. Space combat will be in real-time and portrayed with 3D graphics, with many different camera angles showing in-ship and exterior views, similar to television. The movement in space itself will be on a 2D plane in order to simplify the learning curve for the pilot, and help emphasize teamwork between the ship's crew to allow more creative strategies. Quick analysis and decision-making is the desired goal. Higher-level players will have the ability to form armadas consisting of capital ships and escort ships to complete difficult missions. Ships of all sizes, including fighter-sized ships like the ''Peregrine''-class, runabouts, and shuttles will be available, and players can join forces in many smaller ships or one larger one for a mission. The largest Starfleet starships like the Galaxy-class are not designed for individuals to own, but act as in-space "towns" called hubs. Such ships will be commanded by a NPC crew. Vessels designed by cultures outside of the Federation are will also be accessible. Away team and ground combat Away team combat, including boarding parties, will be in the third-person view based on the use of skills as actions, similar to existing MMO games, and distinctive from first-person shooter games. Offensive, defensive, and support roles will all be available. Death from ground combat scenarios will simply be the loss in time, rather than some sort of permanent death penalty: once critically wounded, the character gets an emergency transport to a medical facility, such as sickbay, receive treatment, and traverse back to the combat area. One might also be awarded a lower mission bonus based on the number of deaths accumulated during the battle. It is the intention of the developers to make space and ground combat comfortable for all players to participate in and both combat types are expected to be viable options in various situations. Both bridge duty and and away mission duty will be important for character advancement. Art and design A ''Galaxy''-class starship is the first major area to be modelled and is planned to be a major hub of activity. The design is based on the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)|USS Enterprise-D]], so well established areas such as Ten Forward, sickbay, and the bridge will be represented. Other planned areas include an aquatic lab and a multi-level computer core. http://startrek.perpetual.com/GalClassHubDeck7SciMed.html The layout of the decks may be based on grouping key areas for certain departments like engineering, science/medical, and security to make accomplishing similar tasks easier. Decks will also be distinguished by number, color, lighting, architecture, signage, and other furnishings. It is expected that decks and its doors, hallways, and rooms will be larger and easier to navigate than seen on television. The first character modelled was a female Vulcan. Starfleet uniform colors will be assigned based on department. From an early interview with the developers, Science gets blue, Engineering gets gold, and Security gets red. http://www.startrek-online.net/community/showthread.php?t=2178&highlight=uniform+color Under this color scheme, it is uncertain what color command officers would wear; they might keep their original department's color or receive a completely different one. However, more recent concept art implies that Science gets blue, Engineering and Security gets gold, and Command gets red. A player will be able to customize their uniforms with various styles and placement of shields, body armor, insignia, and other personal items. Uniform styles from all Star Trek eras will also be offered, although it is unclear in what capacity. Crew quarters most likely will also be customizable, including their location (based on character advancement). Concept art on Starfleet uniforms and an animation of the LCARS interface have been released. http://startrek.perpetual.com/gallery.html An image of various views of what player uniform customization could be available for STO is also available. In January 2006, concept material on a Galaxy-class starship's science/medical hub deck was published. In February 2006, the visual look development team generated in-game, real-time screenshots of a turbolift, hallway, and observation lounge typical of a Galaxy-class starship. http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060221/pieragostini_01.shtml Two more screenshots were made available in early March, one of the female Vulcan officer in a Galaxy-class observation lounge, and another of a corridor showing a door and turbolift. http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/setview/features/loadFeature/497/gameID/216/page/1 Screenshots depicting actual gameplay is likely to be released towards the end of 2006. Key game non-playing characters Federation President Described to be charismatic with a bold vision of the future of peace and exploration. The president is urging Federation citizens and scientists alike to look towards "the next frontier." Terran Ambassador The 94-year-old Terran Ambassador possesses galaxy-renowned diplomatic skills that is being put into effective use in negotiating with the Romulan Star Empire, but has "never forgotten that the universe is more surprising and more dangerous than anyone can imagine." :It is widely believed that Jean-Luc Picard, who turns 94 years of age in 2399 (the same year as the start of STO), is the Terran Ambassador. It is unknown whether Patrick Stewart will lend his voice talents toward this game. Miral Paris The young Klingon/Human entered Starfleet, following her parents. This has inspired a generation of Klingons who believe her to be the kuvah'magh to enter Starfleet themselves. Development changes Original plans indicated that players would specialize in one of the following professions: Flight control, Engineering/Operations, Science, Tactical/Security, Medical, and Command. However, this was changed to the current three departments to expand the versatility of character development. The original analytical/versatile/aggressive character structure is being done away with in favor of a more "interesting and distinct flavor." Klingons were one of the original races available to be chosen by players (along with Humans and Vulcans), but the current system was adopted as to address the issue of why there would be so many Klingons in the Academy. However, they were added back in after a customer survey clearly indicated a desire by the market to play as a Klingon. Many other races were added to the list of playable characters, including Trill, which could work towards becoming joined, and obtain special skills from the joining. Another unknown race was also confirmed to be joining the line-up in early 2006 http://www.startrek-online.net/community/showthread.php?p=52278#post52278, which was later revealed to be Cardassian and Ferengi in the second official FAQ update, thus replacing the Trill race. STO was originally slated for beta testing in 2006, with release in 2007, but this information was removed from all official sources and only recently was a 2007 summer beta test target and early 2008 launch confirmed. There were initial concerns with allowing all characters have access to smaller starships in being detrimental to teamwork and collaboration, but the desire to be a captain of one's own vessel for many players played a role in changing this. Game staff *Todd Berkebile - Server Lead *Glen Dahlgren - Lead Designer *Ira Goeddel - Character Technical Director *Lorien Gremore - Production Assistant *Eric Heimburg - Systems Designer (Senior) *Ken Henderson - Art Director *TJ Holleran - Art Technical Director *Mike Okuda - Design Consultant *Ian Pieragostini - Lead Engineer / Client Lead *Andrew Probert - Design Consultant *Mike Stemmle - Story Lead *Daron Stinnett - Executive Producer *Jesse - Level Designer :''Harry Lang oversaw development of Star Trek games from 1998 up until the split of Viacom in early 2006. This resulted in CBS Consumer Products taking over responsibility for the licensing of Star Trek games. Harry Lang is still Senior Director, Interactive Viacom Consumer Products, Licensing division of Paramount Pictures. External links *Official development website *Star Trek: Online Wiki *Guide to Star Trek Online Category:Role-playing games de:Star Trek Online